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Ode to Bedrest

Well I survived a whole day on 'bedrest' and honestly, it went by really fast somehow. Definitely an eye-opening experience thus far, some of which begs to be shared on the blog:

-that GIANT jug meant to hold 24 hours worth of pee? I totally owned it. In fact, I topped it off three hours before my time was up so I was hoping I could just be done with it. I called the Lab and they informed me that they do, in fact, need every drop for a full 24 hours. Which meant I had to send Nate out to our recycling bin to hunt down an additional pee container. That's true love right there, folks. Not to mention he got the honor of delivering my pee package to the lab, including one giant jug and one extra water bottle fulla pee. His exact quote was, 'Holy cow! I'm going to need a mountain climbing backpack to carry all of your pee!' Not many times you hear that in a day right? Do those lab folks not understand a pregnant bladder or what? :)

-It's pretty fun to read comments on my blog throughout the day instead of cramming them all in after work. I quite liked it. And honestly, all of the kind words and support mean SO much right now. Thank you guys, every one of them helped immensely.

-Henry is a great napping/lazy slob partner in crime...even if he's on the floor and I'm on the couch. He can totally tell something is up and has been very well-behaved and extra cute just for added effect. Also, our couch is pretty darn comfy when stacked with multiple pillows and surrounded by the necessities: laptop, water, books, candle, phone, remote control, and blood pressure cuff:)

-Oh, speaking of my BP: it's been MUCH better ever since I came home yesterday. All the readings were below my OB's goal of 140/90 and today they even dropped into the 'normal' range with a few 120s/80s! I suppose that could mean that 1. It was a total fluke yesterday, or 2. Bedrest worked to stop whatever is going on with me. We shall see what the boss lady says tomorrow morning at my appointment...I'm hoping she'll let me go back to work at least part time and I'm willing to fight for that chance, at least. I'll update this post later tomorrow as I can.

-Marathons of ANTM rule. Tyra still bugs me, but I love that show.

-Daytime TV totally blows, otherwise. I am not a TV person anyway, but come on! You can only watch so many Baby Story and Birth Day episodes, you know.

-Taking your own blood pressure with a standard cuff and scope is WAY harder than it seems. Seriously.

-Having a loving and supportive husband is one of the best things in the world right now. He's the bomb and I'll leave it at that. :)

-Showering, shaving, thoroughly lotioning and then actually blow drying my hair was the highlight of my entire day. I feel like a new woman and perhaps I should do all of those items more often...if only there were time:) Also, who needs to schedule eyebrow waxing sessions when you can just pluck away those bad boys for hours on end? And manicures? Pish posh. Did that myself today, too. My self-grooming skills increase exponentially while on bedrest, apparently:)

-Baby Carlos likes bedrest more than his mommy. He's been doing a little jig inside my belly a lot more often lately...maybe with all that extra blood flow and added rest, huh? Or maybe I've just stopped to notice it lately....since I'm taking this whole situation as a sign to slow the heck down.

I've decided that even though I haven't FELT abnormally stressed or overworked, my body definitely has a lot of demands on it any given day and perhaps it has just given me a giant smoke signal. Even if my doc does release me back to work tomorrow, I promise to take it easy and stop trying to be superwoman in every aspect of life. I mean, something has to give and it's not going to be the health of my baby boy. As my freak out mode has diminished I've realized that this could be substantially worse than what it is. I'm far enough along in my pregnancy, otherwise healthy, and have a fabulous support system around me to make the best of whatever happens. I'm still hoping to make it until the end, thus having the luxury of complaining about being uncomfortable and overdue:) Plus, if I thought I cherished this pregnancy before I was wrong---I value it even more right now.

So that's that....deep thoughts from the confines of a couch. Check this post tomorrow for updates, or if there is a LOT to say maybe I'll get wild and create a whole new one. Three new posts in three days? Definitely a sign that I have a lot more time on my hands, huh? :)

The appointment went well this morning! My blood and urine were both clean, no protein or anything scary to make them think this is pre-eclampsia. My BP was 118/76 for them which earned me huge brownie points, I'm sure:) So basically, the doc thinks it could have just been a fluke high BP on Tuesday or possibly the start of something that was cured by the bedrest. As I increase my activity and begin working again, only time will tell if it's too much for my body or if I can handle it just fine. Or as my doctor says, 'Get really lazy, walk slower, sit more, and take care of your little nest of eggs in there.' She wants me to use the pregnancy pass more often and stop trying to be 'crazy type-A do-it-all'. How does she know me so well? :)

So I headed over to work after the appointment, saw a few patients at a leisurely pace, and checked my pressure. It was 134/86 which is still under the goal of 140/90 but inching up there. I used my common sense and decided that was enough for the day and headed home for some more rest. After all, I have two baby showers to attend tomorrow and I work full days on both Saturday and Sunday. I'll have plenty of tests in the upcoming days, that's for sure!

I go back to my OB on Monday and she reiterated again that she was very close to admitting me on Tuesday but she knew she could trust me to follow her directions and not be stupid. I'm taking that to mean she wants me to continue down that 'smart' path and listen to my body and I fully plan on embracing a new low-key mindset.

So overall, great appointment! We'll see how the next few days go but I'm hoping it was a one time thing that we can put behind us and move forward in the next 5 weeks without any more scares! We shall see, I suppose.

Glad to hear the BP is looking better! Daytime TV is somewhat lacking on the entertainment front. You should look into Netflix. You can stream movies through your laptop (or certain blu-ray players). When I've got the day off I've got movies streaming through in the background while I do household chores through the day. You can get free unlimited streaming and one DVD/Blu-ray rental at a time for $9/month.

Just a thought! Enjoy your time to relax. Think of it as time to focus on yourself. Because when little Carlos comes, it's all going to be about him. :)

As i'm enjoying the last days of pregnancy insomnia (i'm currently 7 days "overdue") i was thinking about your bloggy over here & remembered that i had read about epsom salt baths being good for raised bp. i have sure found them to be awesome for me this pgcy... i have to use the 2 full cups in the bath to notice a difference, but i've got no swelling in my feet or hands & have felt great overall (maybe too great - maybe that's why baby won't come out *smile*) - anyway, just one thought to add to the billions of thoughts that are obviously rattling around in your mind.

I have a standard deck of daytime TV for days when I'm at home. I start out with the Today Show, switch to the View at 10, and then the Food Network for Paula Deen and Giada from 11-12. From 12-1 I watch HGTV (usually a Designed to Sell!), and then Matlock on the CW from 1-2. Then I mix it up until 4, when Oprah comes on. It's sad that I know all this, isn't it? :)

Glad you are doing better. Love the idea of a back pack with pee jugs. I think it would be funnier however if the jugs were hanging from ropes off of an already full backpack! Like he had hiked there. Take it easy julia gulia.

I know these days are trying and scary for certain, but it will all be worth it for your sweet baby "Carlos." Try the on demand channels if you get them to see if you can find better daytime programming. Agreed on ANTM - love the marathons but Tyra annoys me and creeps me out with her narcissism.

Your nursery looks amazing, and I am very impressed by all the handmade touches and love that went into creating such a unique and fun room for your baby.

Glad the BP went back down to a normal range. I know it's tough but keep up the positive attitude and make sure to give your body a break in these last weeks. There's no harm in being lazy once in awhile ;)